The Universidad Europea and its School of Doctoral Studies and Research are engaged in research on multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging on patients with prostate cancer, a project led by Felipe Couñago, a professor at the University and radiation oncologist at Quirónsalud University Hospital in Madrid; Israel J. Thuissard and David Sanz Rosa also participated in the project as co-authors.
This research dates back to 2009 and is based on the hypothesis that using multiparametric resonance to diagnose prostate cancer would provide more reliability when deciding on treatment.
As Couñago explained, this technique allows doctors to distinguish what is a tumor and what isn't. “We have seen that we can diagnose prostate cancer using a digital rectal examination and ultrasound with around 10% reliability, yet with resonance we can get to above 70%. This makes any decisions based on resonance much more reliable," the radiation oncologist added.
The use of this technique is still being researched, as its cost-effectiveness must be confirmed before it becomes routinely used in the general population. Moreover, the challenge now is to determine whether, given that resonance changes treatment-related decisions, this would increase the patient survival rate.